Language Revolution

In the years after Mustafa Kemal founded the new Turkish republic, he and his regime sought to create a definite Turkish identity. The Ottoman Empire had been governed by the Turks in Istanbul, but it's main identity was Islamic, not Turkish. In the new republic, the Kemalists sought to change that. They first abolished Islamic institutions, then sought to rediscover (in many cases, invent) what it meant to be Turkish.

One of the ways they did was to implement what they called "language revolution," or a total overhaul of the Ottoman language. To start with, they abolished the Arabic script and implemented the Latin script. Then, the state began to change the language itself. Arabic/Farsi root words were thrown out and new words derived from ancient Turkish root words were created. For example, the old Ottoman word for airplane was 'tayyare' but during the language revolution, it was thrown out due to it's non Turkish root. In it's place the word 'uçak' (coming from 'uç' to fly) was adopted.

The language revolution is both a resounding success and a dismal failure. It failed to completely get rid of Arabic/Persian words from Turkish. For a time, there was even linguistic chaos as people, enthusiastic to take part in the purification of the language, began to invent their own words and root systems. But the language revolution was and is also a success. The Latin alphabet provided a logical alternative to the Arabic script, which did not represent the vowels so important in Turkic languages. Also, the language reflected in many ways, the language spoken by the common people in Anatolia. The standardization of the new language was quickly realized.

The fascinating to me is how radical yet logical the Kemalist language revolution was. The regime was not so much a reforming regime as a revolutionary one. In looking to the past, the Kemalists were creating a brand new identity for the future. Historians see the Bolsheviks, the Maoists, the Jacobins as traditionally revolutionary regimes. No doubt they are. But it's fascinating to think that just as Lenin and the Bolsheviks were beginning to implement their radical transformation of the old Russian empire, so too was Mustafa Kemal and the Kemalists implementing their own radical transformation of society. I think it would be interesting to look into the structure of the Kemalist regime, just as authors have looked, for example, at the structure of the Stalinist regime.

Turkish cinema

Today after classes were over, we saw a Turkish film called Mutluluk, or in English: Happiness. It was about a girl in the east of Turkey who had been raped. After being traumatized, she is made an outcast by the village as the blame for the rape is placed on her. She is refered to as 'unclean' many times. The plot progresses much more than this, but it's the idea of the film that is so compelling. Seeing Multuluk for the second time, I appreciated what the filmmaker was trying to accomplish. Did he suceed fully? I don't think so. But the issue of tradition versus modernity is brought up.

Turkish cinema, in my opinion, is in the process of inventing itself. It has traditionally lagged behind other cinematic traditions, Iranian cinema being a higly developped and complex example. But Turkish cinema can achieve something other regional cinematic traditions cannot for the moment: it can be daring. Could Mutluluk be made in Iran for example? Not the the degree it was in Turkey. Leila is a highly complex Iranian film dealing with societal issues, but the director cannot be 100% straightforward with the audience. (Which, in fact, adds to the allure of the film in many ways).

But Turkish cinema can be bold, can probe societal questions because Turkey itself is opening up. It's opening up religiously, opening up to both east and west, it's opening up culturally too. Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Reha Erdem, Abdullah Oğuz, these are the faces of a new Turkish cinema.

Taksim rally

Pushing through the masses of people in Taksim towards an impenetrable swarm of protesters carrying banners, signs, and raising their fists in the air. They chant in unison, "eşcinseller susmayacak." Yes, you are witnessing a gay pride rally in a majority Muslim country.

If this doesn't smash the stereotypes westerners have of the east, then what truly can? Then again, Turkey is a highly complex place that almost defies "east" or "west" labels. No one hid his or her face, no one sat timidly, content with merely participating by being there. No, this crowd was passionate. I was surprised to see women wearing headscarves also participating in the march. "Eşcinseller susmayacak." This chant plays over and over in my mind. I think to myself, "I have been silent." Not just about this, but about other things in my life. Sessiz Wesley, ürkek Wesley. But seeing this crowd today, these people who's skin fits them, who own their truth and are not ashamed of it, has awaken something in me.

My skin has not fit for a long time.